


something like that

by banesexual



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, M/M, basically simon is loud and jace is tired, the two get off on the wrong foot but in true jimon style pine from one wall over
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-16 18:27:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13641984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/banesexual/pseuds/banesexual
Summary: the neighbours AU nobody asked for ~ jace and simon live next door to each other and communicate through passive aggressive notes until one day they meet face to face...





	something like that

Confrontation, Simon thinks as he clutches a small handwritten note and storms across the hall, has never really been his thing.

Normally, he likes a strong dose of denial in the eyes of a fight but today – today he wants _blood._

Well, not blood but he definitely wants _something_ now that his neighbour seems hellbent on leaving daily warnings under his door like some warped newspaper subscription. His favourite headlines so far include: _You Play Guitar Too Loud_ and _Shower Singing is for Nerds_. 

And maybe it would all be the littlest bit called for if Simon actually _meant_ to be loud – but he doesn’t, he’s just a nocturnal music major who’s lived away from home long enough to forget the perils of paper-thin walls and shared space.

He’s _trying_ though, to be more aware despite the growing hostility of every last note.

Only his asshole neighbour has returned no such favour – something Simon realised the night before, headphones in to drown out the obnoxiously loud moans coming from one apartment over. They seemed...deliberate, uncaringly selfish in this way Simon’s never really known firsthand.

So he’s here – in front of his neighbour’s door, shuffling from one foot to the other as he nervously slides a note beneath it. There’s something freeing, exhilarating even, about letting ink do the talking and he feels the smallest bit of pride watching the paper disappear under the door. 

Until that very door swings open a moment later and any good feeling is replaced with pure and utter dread.

Because the man standing before him is wildly attractive, blessed with the kind of looks that make Simon stutter on the best of days. He’s in all black, henley rolled up to his elbows and the soft material strains at his arms. He’s clutching a jacket in one hand, clearly on his way out and he almost runs right into Simon, who is still standing on his doorstep, effectively dumbstruck. 

Mostly-blue eyes look him up and down in a way that leaves Simon blushing. They linger just a bit before falling to the ground where the note lies heavy between them.

Simon watches in horror as Jace bends at the knees and picks up the piece of paper, eyes curious as they scan the words Simon wishes he could take back.

“Glad you’re getting some,” Jace reads aloud, an amused grin spreading across his perfectly sculpted face, “’Cause I’m certainly not, but can you keep the sex noises to a minimum? Signed, your not-as-noisy-as-you neighbour.”

Simon cringes, hearing his thoughts from the night before read back like an embarrassing diary entry. They sound petty, and lame, and not at all threatening like the warnings slipped under his own door.

“I didn’t – you started it!” Simon says helplessly, blushing more with every word, “The notes, I mean. I guess last night was your payback or whatever.”

Jace snorts, “No, I’m just really good in bed.”

And Simon splutters at that, already struggling to keep his composure the longer they stand there - strangers but not quite.

Because he feels like he knows Jace, through shared words and proximity but coming face to face with him is entirely different. He’s arrogant as expected, his smug tone matching every last note but there’s something else – a softness? – that is lost between person and paper and Simon finds himself annoyingly intrigued.

“You can always join us,” Jace offers, indicating to his apartment and the bedroom inside, “Give me a worthwhile reason to lose sleep for a change.” 

He's looking at Simon intently, head tilted to the side as he waits for a reaction – which doesn’t really come, instead Simon just stands there, stunned. This feels like the beginning of some story-driven porno and as tempting as the next scene seems, Simon’s brain is telling him to bolt, because boys this cute don’t suggest threesomes in the hallway of their apartment complex.

At least not in his experience.

“Uh, thanks?” Simon says awkwardly, eyes anywhere but on the infuriating smirk before him, “I’m just gonna...” he gestures behind him, turning on the spot and he can hear Jace laughing as he fumbles with his keys, gets his own door open and shuts it, loud as he can.

Because his asshole neighbour is hot.

And maybe not straight.

But definitely an asshole so he can make noise all he likes...

~ 

It’s sometime past 4am when Simon gets home, keys knocking against the door loudly as he tries to make them fit. Maybe it’s all the alcohol but they keep slipping out until the door swings open and Simon falls forward - onto Jace, who is standing there in pyjama bottoms and no shirt.

Which is amazing, _truly_ amazing but also very odd and Simon’s brain takes a second to catch up before he manages to speak.

“Why are you in my apartment?”

Jace gives him a strange look, “I’m....not?”

Simon shakes his head, instantly regretting the movement as dizziness takes over. He grabs at the door frame for balance and points accusingly, “You’re standing in it – with your feet. Right now!”

“This is my apartment,” Jace deadpans, rolling his eyes as Simon goes to keep arguing. “403,” he says tiredly, pointing to the chrome numbers on his door, “You’re 404.”

Simon blinks, eyes following the hundreds. “Oh. Huh.”

He keeps standing there and Jace sighs, “You sure like waking me up, huh ?” But he doesn’t seem mad, not like every last note would suggest. He almost sounds...fond, which makes zero sense, especially with drunken birthday brain.

Still, there’s a shift and Simon grins, all teeth and definite cheek.

“You’re not so scary anymore.”

Jace frowns, “Scary?" 

“Yeah,” Simon says, like it’s obvious, “We could be friends, I think. If I needed to borrow flour or whatever I could totally ask you like normal neighbours and not, like, freak out about it. Not more than usual anyway.” 

Jace smiles at that, eyebrow raised, “Flour? Are we nineteen-fifties housewives?”

“Hey! Don’t, like, question my metaphorical needs. I bake!” Simon says defensively, letting go of the door frame to cross his arms tight. The action makes him sway and he groans. “ _Shit I need to lie down_.”

And then he’s pushing past Jace, making a stumbly beeline for any form of furniture.

“Yes, please come in and pass out on my couch,” Jace says sarcastically but the bite isn’t there as he comes closer, moving old take out containers and making room for Simon who immediately sinks into the cushions and curls up in a ball. He sighs softly, nuzzling the warmth around him and all Jace can do is watch, baffled at how his annoying next door neighbour ended up here of all places, making him goddamn _feel._

“You’re cute, you know,” Simon says suddenly, eyes half shut and Jace freezes, “I mean, of course you know, you’re getting sex on the regular – which, like, congrats, but you’re not very good at keeping quiet which would _normally_ turn me on beyond belief, but it’s not – it’s not with me! And it should be... like convenience, check. Chemistry, check. Kickass morning after breakfast, check.”

Jace hides a grin as Simon keeps going, listing things he himself has already thought about, mind straying more times than he’d admit.

Because he doesn’t do this – this in between. If he sees someone he likes he does something about it but every run in since their first has him torn, unsure if Simon’s nerves are left over from paper warnings or if they come from actual interest.  
  
“It could be us,” Jace says honestly, caught off guard by how much he wants this. He should wait until morning, that much is clear, but Simon is right there, doing things to his heart he can’t quite understand and the words sort of just _slip._

There’s silence for a few agonising seconds and then Simon’s breathing evens out, filling the room with soft snores.

Jace sighs, smiling to himself before grabbing a blanket from his room and tucking Simon in. He tip toes into the kitchen and finds some scrap paper, writing what he hopes will be the last note between them.

It’s different to all the others and he hesitates for just a second before leaving it on the coffee table and walking quietly to his empty bed. 

~

The first thing Simon thinks, heavy eyes blinking open, is that he’s fucked his next door neighbour.

Which is a dream in and of itself, but he’s very much so awake and alone and on the same pleather couch he helped Jace manouevre in the other week. He recognises the frames on the coffee table too, filled with photos of family and friends he learned about over a pitcher of something Jace swore wasn’t alcoholic.

The buzz was there though, and all real thanks to who he was sitting beside.

There’s a picture Simon picked up that night, high on the way their bodies kept angling like magnets. He remembers asking about it, seeing Jace ease as he talked about Alec and Izzy and their annual beach trip up north.  

It’s something Simon's thought about all week, this stripped back version of his cocky neighbour, how they almost felt like friends...

Simon scans photo again, shamelessly checking out Jace in nothing but board shorts when he spots the piece of paper tucked underneath its metal frame. The note's torn with a few scribbles and he picks it up slowly, reading as bits of last night come trickling back.

_Tell drunk you I think he’s cute too._

And that’s...new, a folded _maybe_ so different to any other and Simon turns red, remembering his drunken admission from the night before.

Liquor aside, he meant it - the wants and the _could be’s_ growing greater each time they meet. He thinks they could fit, each of their jagged edges inverted to slide, join, fuse together in a way that somehow _works_.

It doesn’t make sense - _they_ shouldn’t make sense but the more he thinks about it the more they do _-_

“Good morning,” Jace says, walking barefoot into the kitchen and grinning when Simon jumps, scrunching up the piece of paper and flying backwards on the couch until his back meets board.

“Hi – hello!” Simon says awkwardly, waving a little and Jace smiles which is enough to make him go on, “Uh thank you – and sorry – for last night. I don’t usually get like that, so drunk I can’t get myself home, but it was my birthday and everyone kept buying me shots and like who am I to turn down free tequila?”

He's talking fast and using his hands a lot, gestures in overload trying to combat the nervous energy threatening to spill over and it's working - kind of, except for the whole mad hands thing. 

“It was your birthday?” Jace asks, wishing he’d known so he could do....he’s not sure what, but something.

Simon nods, “Yeah, I was gonna have drinks here but my best friend has a tendency to lose all volume control under the effects of alcohol and I thought that might be a nasty surprise.” 

Jace is leaning against the kitchen counter now, weight resting on his elbows and he looks more than a bit stunned. 

“You went out,” Jace asks slowly, “For me?”

Simon laughs, “Well, for _me_ but yeah. I know how you get with noise...and with sleep.”

Jace cringes, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment, “Sorry about that – those notes. I, uh – I get these nightmares. I always kind of have but lately they’ve been worse and uninterrupted sleep – it’s sort of become a rarity.”

He’s staring at the wall now, a little unfocused and when he sighs it sounds long overdue.

“I wrote those stupid things when I didn’t know you – when you were some faceless noise that made me so tired I couldn’t _think_.”

Simon nods, looking down at the latest piece of paper before grinning, “And what about this one?”   

He turns it over in his hands before waving it between them,

“That,” Jace points, “Would be the exception. Written in fatigue for sure, because you woke me up at _four am_ Lewis, but stupid?” Jace smiles softly, “Not so much.”

It’s slow, because Simon’s body is still one part tequila but he’s up and moving until he’s standing across the kitchen, not really knowing what to do next. 

“Are you dating anyone?” Simon blurts and then scrunches up his face because really truly _anything_ would have been better than _that_ , “I just mean – nobody was here last night. At least no visitors of the loud sex kind.”

Jace smirks, “You noticed." 

“I didn’t _notice_ ,” Simon bites back, knowing the note was too good to be true. Because of course he’s the one looking stupid, the one saying everything wrong and coming across too much when Jace really started it all, on his doorstep that morning, charm laid on thick, “I wasn’t looking or anything it’s just, it was a Friday night. Isn’t that date night or whatever?” 

Jace shrugs, “We spent it together so you tell me.” 

And Simon rolls his eyes, laugh low in this throat, “God, why - _why_ are you like this? Too smooth and all games –“

“Hey,” Jace says seriously, stepping into Simon’s space and stilling his energetic hands before he can think better of it, “You’re not a game..."

Simon looks down at their hands, thinking of all the times he's stood at that door, unjumbling mixed messages and smug jokes, wondering if he really means all that much.

"I’m sorry," Jace tries again, "I’m no good at this part but I’d really like to try.”

And he means it, for maybe the first time and possibly the last.

“This part?” Simon echoes, finally looking up with the startings of a smile, “You mean that age-old stage between slipping rude notes under doors and til death do we part?”

Jace laughs, eyes all crinkly, “Something like that.”

And then they’re both leaning in, finallyletting the tension between them _snap._ It's months of hallway run-ins and next door niceties all building and bubbling to now. At first, the kiss is soft, testing uncharted waters but then they’re pressed against the granite counter and Jace couldn’t care less about noise.

~

“So we’re here,” Alec gestures around them as people dance and laugh and eat, ”Celebrating the second housewarming of the year because you moved a couple of feet to an identical place in the same apartment complex?” 

Magnus shakes his head fondly, “It’s romantic, Alexander.” Then he turns to Jace and smiles, eyes warm, “And we’re happy for you both.”

Jace grins, pulling them into a lopsided group hug that lasts longer than it really should - mainly for revenge, Alec complains later, several drinks deep, but also because they're here and he's happy and nothing's felt this light in a long time.

Simon watches from their makeshift bar (because yes _we need a bar, Jace, you can’t just hand around a bottle of vodka_ ), sandwiched next to Clary who’s already given him a series of violently tight hugs of her own.

“He’s good,” she says seriously, smiling as Jace catches sight of them and makes a beeline to his boyfriend, “He’s really good." 

And all Simon can do is beam until Jace is by his side, arm slung around his shoulders, holding him tight. They look around the room, taking in their people all mixing and merging together and only now does this place feel like home.

 

**Author's Note:**

> hi hello its been something ridiculous like five months bc i graduated and went travelling and started a new job but i'm BACK !! comments feed my soul ((and stop me from doubting my writing after a long break)) so thank u to anyone leaving me love!!!!! i hope u enjoy this little bit of silly nonsense that wouldn't leave my brain xo


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